[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Is it possible that the answer could equal a quantity so large as to make the event impossible?
[/ QUOTE ]
Its definitely safe to say that there is
plenty of energy in the Universe to make this happen, if thats what youre asking.
[/ QUOTE ]
Last I heard the total energy, along with the total electric charge of the universe is zero.
20M tons = 18 143 694 800 kg. (18 billion).
change in PE is mass times G times chance in height. Your esimate of 100 meters gives about 17.80 terajoules.
According to this webpage
http://www.eia.doe.gov/kids/energyfa...alculator.html
that's around 2942 barrels of petroleum, or 137530 gallons of gasoline.
These numbers all seem high so I encourage people to look for flaws.